| Link(s): | How data protection law can help protect businesses from crime | ICO Using personal information to protect your business from crime | ICO |
Context
The ICO has published a blog by Emily Keaney, the Deputy Commissioner for Regulatory Policy, setting out how data protection law can help protect businesses from crime. The sets out that, for retail businesses, the chances are that protecting their business from crime is something they think about every single day.
Key points to note and next actions
- The ICO has published advice about how to share information lawfully to help tackle crime that is aimed specifically with small retailers in mind; time-pressed business owners who need clear answers to practical questions.
- The British Retail Consortium estimates there are almost 5.5 million incidents of theft and 43,000 incidents of violence against staff every year across the whole sector, with retailers continuing to invest in measures such as CCTV systems to help tackle the issue.
- The ICO accepts that there is sometimes a feeling that data protection law is not on retailers’ side; that they are on the receiving end of crime but also the ones who must tread carefully. This is something the ICO wants to address.
- The blog explains the reality that data protection law enables businesses to use personal information, including CCTV footage, to protect their business, staff, and premises.
- Data protection law gives businesses a legitimate, structured way to use the information they already have to protect their business, and the ICO guidance makes it easy to do.